The JAM wrote:We once lived in a city where a leftist candidate had the same last name as we did. My parents got out of a LOT of traffic tickets that way: the policeman saw their licenses, balked when he saw our last name, apologised, and left.

Well, politicians DO have legal immunity to misdemeanors. In fact, they're immune to all forms of "arrest" unless it involves treason, is a felony, or a breach of the peace. They also can't be sued for slander.

Though I'm guessing he was more worried about losing his job for arresting the politicians family than anything... Poor officer...

I'm wondering if a martial art designed by a race of sapient, clawed and sharp toothed mammals who seemed quite comfortable in the trees wouldn't be a bit different from one designed by a race of thin skinned, weak toothed, not so comfortable in the trees primates? More quick slashes meant to cause incovient bleeding, prehaps some biting?

One would also have to factor in that a martial art that was targeted against the same furry creatures would be alot different then one meant to give them the tools to take out a much larger but thinner skined foe in bare handed combat.

Axelgear wrote:Well, politicians DO have legal immunity to misdemeanors. In fact, they're immune to all forms of "arrest" unless it involves treason, is a felony, or a breach of the peace. They also can't be sued for slander.

Though I'm guessing he was more worried about losing his job for arresting the politicians family than anything... Poor officer...

That may be true in Canada but it is generally not the case in the US. Practically, it is imprudent to lean too hard on a politician but that's a different matter.

Actually, it has been very broadly applied. Pretty much all politicians have drunk driving and parking tickets they've made go away (Look up their criminal records). As to Tom DeLay and Jefferson, they both committed a felony, which this does not cover.

frigidmagi wrote:I'm wondering if a martial art designed by a race of sapient, clawed and sharp toothed mammals who seemed quite comfortable in the trees wouldn't be a bit different from one designed by a race of thin skinned, weak toothed, not so comfortable in the trees primates? More quick slashes meant to cause incovient bleeding, prehaps some biting?

And how about taking their fur, whiskers, and tails into account? This could be cute if it weren't so violent.

Actually, it has been very broadly applied. Pretty much all politicians have drunk driving and parking tickets they've made go away (Look up their criminal records). As to Tom DeLay and Jefferson, they both committed a felony, which this does not cover.

That is an example of corruption at work not the law. Legally speaking the immunity only applies when the government is in session or when the politico is heading towards a session or going home away from a session. The fact that this is abused is a side issue.

Back to the topic of beating people up, I was wondering why we've never seen any of the characters bite or claw someone? The Royals and Redcaps use fist, when actually it would be more effective for them to use claws... Unless the claws can't actually break through the pelt and hide of most creatures? While small they seemed sharp enough from the few close ups we've had.

frigidmagi wrote:Back to the topic of beating people up, I was wondering why we've never seen any of the characters bite or claw someone? The Royals and Redcaps use fist, when actually it would be more effective for them to use claws... Unless the claws can't actually break through the pelt and hide of most creatures? While small they seemed sharp enough from the few close ups we've had.

Hm... the claws of mundane raccoons don't seem to be weapons, based on the ones I fed raccoon kibble to at the Birmingham Zoo many long years ago.

Their teeth, though, are definitely weapons, and every now and then we see that the Rac Conan teeth have some fair-sized canines.

Not, however, it seems to me, enough to be really formidable weapons. In fights, humans occasionally bite (cf. Mike Tyson) but it's not usually the most effective tactic. Presumably the same holds for Rac Conans, though their bite probably inflicts more damage than a similiar-size human.

Chimps, and especially baboons, have quite potent weapons in their teeth. I suspect Quentyn's similarity to mundane raccoons is about as close as the average human's similarity to a shaved chimp or baboon. (If Quentyn ever finds it necessary to try to "pass" as a mundane raccoon, we'll have some data points on the extent of the physical differences.)

Here's the thing, raccoons use their teeth to kill their prey. If Quentyn is close enough to a base line raccoon (If I may use the term?) his own teeth would be capable enough of killing thin skinned creatures (like... humans for example) but not thicker skinned creatures (a certain breed of sapient croc people come to mind).

Raccoon teeth are tougher, longer and sharper then humans, whose teeth are not at all suited for bring down and killing prey. While omnivores, raccoons do hunt and kill their prey. There are records of raccoons mauling large dogs and killing cats.

Now granted it's possible that Quentyn's teeth aren't nearly that strong or sharp. After all his specis is sapient and has figured out how to use tools and cook their meat. That being said, his bite should be miles worst then anything an unarmed human can do without picking him up. Trust me picking up a coon is the worse thing you can do when you've alarmed them, their skin is rather "loose" and they do not like being handled by a bunch of naked monkeys (that's a joke, let's leave evolution vs creationism in it's own thread!).

Well, this assumes you couldn't enhance the claws artificially, like with a claw sharpener, or maybe some claw-equivalent of strenthening nail polish.

I would have hoped to say something meaninful, or possible inciteful. But, alas.
How goes the world today? From right to left or left to right? Perhaps it runs round mad reels, turning in on itself only at long last to blow away with the leaves and gutter-trash.
How goes the world today? Top to Bottom or Bottom to Top? Perhaps it will rise high enough so that it may see the back of its own head, in a maddening tunnel of infinity.
How goes the world today? Clockwise or Counter? Perhaps it will spin itself mad, curling a spring-from into endlessness.
Or maybe, today, it will just stop.

claw weapons? just asking for trouble in my opinion. They only become useful if their user is silly enough to train in unarmed combat, then find himself in a knife fight. A proper fighting style historically, in europe at least started with unarmed, then trained daggers, then swords, and maybe polearms after that.
good motto i suppose
"Proper weapons for proper fights"